HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she was manhandled by staff at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo while attempting to access the dirt floor Tuesday night.
“First, there was one man yelling at me, then there was multiple men, then multiple men shoving me,” Hidalgo told Eyewitness News in an exclusive interview.
Rodeo officials told Eyewitness News they have no knowledge of any physical altercation, but confirm that Hidalgo and her guests were denied entry to the floor because they lacked chute seat tickets.
As county judge, Hidalgo is the ex officio director of the rodeo and has a seat in the county suite. NRG Stadium, where the rodeo is held, is owned by the county.
Rodeo officials say Hidalgo’s team requested and were granted almost $9,000 worth of floor access tickets for Hidalgo and her guests for three previous nights.
But they say Hidalgo’s team was told she wouldn’t be granted floor access Tuesday night because the Megan Moroney concert was sold out.
“Somebody on my staff mentioned to me very briefly as I was heading out, ‘We heard that the dirt is full,'” Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo said she and her five guests, including West University Place Mayor Susan Sample and Sample’s two children, were allowed to sit in the county suite.
At some point, Hidalgo said they decided to try their luck at floor access.
“I’ve always been, never needed a wristband,” she said.
Hidalgo said that two of her guests, parents of a deceased Air Force veteran, were allowed onto the floor but that she and her other guests were stopped.
“At some point, they said it was, you know, that these are paid seats. I said, ‘Okay, I will pay for them,'” said Hidalgo.
Rodeo officials say Hidalgo was asked multiple times to return to the county suite and eventually asked to leave the rodeo when she refused.
You can hear a man telling her she needed to leave the property in an audio recording she provided.
“They escorted me out of the Harris County stadium and were right behind me, like, frankly, reminded me of the cattle,” said Hidalgo.
The rodeo insists Hidalgo left without an escort and that her guests were never asked to leave.
Her guests say they were asked to leave, including the West U mayor, who had already returned to the county suite by that point.
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not the spirit of the rodeo, it’s not the spirit of this community, and frankly, it makes me even more afraid for people in our community who are not white-passing,” Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo said surveillance footage at NRG Stadium will back up her claim that she was manhandled. She said she’s working to obtain it.
Chris Boleman, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, released the following statement:
“On March 10, during the sold-out Megan Moroney concert, Judge Lina Hidalgo attempted to access the dirt area without a valid chute seat ticket. Additionally, she attempted to bring several guests, also without chute seat tickets. Rodeo security advised that dirt access is limited to chute seat ticket holders only, a premium ticket priced at $425, and the group was directed back to their ticketed seating.”
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